Welcome to the latest edition of "Making A Difference"! Here's another great issue for you. So, grab yourself a cool drink, get comfy, and take a look at this month's edition with all the great stuff you've become accustomed to.

I Heard You - I'm still doing my best to oblige!

For the past 2 months, many of you have responded to my request to tell me what you wanted. Again, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's so nice to know that some people actually take the time to read my e-zine and the fact that so many of you to take the additional time to write is truly mind-boggling. 

As I said last month, now that I know more about what you'd like me to provide, I can spend my time doing my best to give it to you. You can see the original list of suggestions in last month's newsletter by clicking here. 

This month, I'll continue to address some of these things and, hopefully, you'll find something of value to you.  If I haven't gotten to your particular need yet, rest assured that I will do my best to get to it soon. So, please bear with me.

Here's what I've been able to do so far:

Regarding writing more about how and why we should try to "make a difference", see article one below. It's the second of many installments.

Regarding the issue of what "tools" you really need (versus the countless over-hyped products that every "guru" in the world says you MUST have) to create a super successful home business, you'll find more information down below. Not only will I tell you what is really essential, but I'll save you a lot of money too!

Moving on to various "graphics" needs that you might have, I'll tell you that I'm in the process of creating a new site where I will tell you about the products and services I have for you and show you some examples of my work. If you like what you see, you can either hire me to do the graphic work for you or choose to do it yourself by using some of the best and most affordable products available (the very ones I use).

Most exciting of all, I am happy to report that I am also already in the process of laying the foundation for a new web site that will be completely devoted to explaining how the latest discoveries in Quantum Physics are the key to understanding "reality" and how YOU can benefit mightily by becoming aware of them and by beginning to incorporate the teachings into your overall belief system. The power that is available to you to affect your life experience is awesome. It's time to start learning how to use it to create the kind of life you've always wanted.

The answers to your most complex questions are now within your reach. I got delayed several times this past month, so I didn't get this finished yet - but it's coming very soon. Stay tuned for more. 

Now, on to main body of our newsletter ...

So Many Ways To "Make A Difference ...

By Louis Conjar

Sometimes, it’s easy to see people doing things that “make a difference” in the world. The recent devastation that hurricanes Katrina and Rita have wrought has been met with numerous examples of people giving of their time and money to help the victims. In fact, catastrophes like these even cause a great mobilization of government and corporate resources to assist those in need. Other recent examples are the efforts following the tsunami, the 9/11 horror and many other disasters.

While I applaud the efforts of all who assist in these global catastrophes, I find it every bit as inspiring to see the “little things” that people do to help make a difference in the lives of only a few people. We don’t need catastrophes to make a difference. As modern science, especially in the area of Quantum Physics, continues to prove that we are all connected, it’s important to keep in mind that we all have the power to contribute to the growth of mankind, even if we are seemingly only helping or “making a difference” in the life of a single person.

By way of illustration, let me just tell you a little bit about my experiences over the past few days. I’ve had several examples of how much we make a difference in the lives of those we interact with, often without even realizing it.

If I were to tell you everything that has occurred in my life over the past few days relating to how we each make a difference, this would be an extremely long article. So, I’ll just confine myself to a few instances that relate to music. I’ve always known that music can have an incredibly positive effect on our lives because it often ties so strongly into our emotional self and, therefore, into our emotional “well-being”. 

Side-note: My family has always been extremely fond of, and tied together by, the power of music. All of us play musical instruments of some kind and we have wonderful memories of family get-togethers where we all perform and sing and just “lose ourselves” in the music. In fact, my brother is a very talented song-writer, which just boggles my mind. I’ve always been in awe of people who have the ability to touch our very souls by writing songs and music. To discover that I had a brother with the ability to do so has always been an extreme source of delight to me.

Anyway, back to my experiences of the last few days. Here’s what happened:

1)      On Tuesday, I received an order for some CDs that I offer on one of my websites by a local group named Mystic Warriors. I only offer these CDs because I love their music and want to share it with the world. Normally, I don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of stocking inventory, shipping, and all the other headaches that go with offering “hard goods”. That’s why I concentrate on offering “soft goods” such as e-books, audio e-courses, software programs and such that can be digitally downloaded by my customers without a lot of interaction from me. 

But, when it comes to the music of Mystic Warriors, I make an exception. I had first “discovered” them a number of years ago while going down to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore for lunch. They were performing there in the little area that is reserved for such “happenings” and I was just mesmerized by their sound. They play a wide variety of “woodwind” instruments such as exotic pan flutes and have a sound that can best be described as “majestic”. 

Anyway, I received an order on Tuesday and wound up sharing some enjoyable emails with the woman who had placed the order. So, I feel like I have met another new “friend”. Then, guess what? It happened again! I received another order and went through the same process again! Another new friend and some more sharing of experiences and all from a single web page that I don’t even promote! And yet, just because I love the music of Mystic Warriors, I put that page up and have met many new kindred spirits along the way and we each have “made a difference” in the lives of the other – possibly in ways we will never know. It’s so cool the way that works!

2)      On Friday, my sister sent me an email telling me that she had inadvertently ordered 2 sets of tickets to an Edwin McCain concert for that evening and wanted to know if I would like to go. So, I said sure and went to the show with her and her daughter (my lovely niece) and we all had a great time. It turned out that Edwin had not one, but two, opening acts and my sister loved one of the groups and wound up having a fun conversation with the lead singer of the group afterwards which certainly brightened her day. It “made a difference”. 

My niece is a big fan of Edwin McCain and, besides getting the pleasure of hearing him perform, she also was happy to “share” the gift of his music with me – which I enjoyed immensely. So, we all “made a difference” in each other’s lives by getting together at the concert and simply enjoying ourselves. I think it’s one of the most wonderful things about life that we just can’t help but enjoy ourselves when we are making a difference in someone else’s life.  

3)      On Saturday, I had the extreme pleasure of returning the favor by taking my sister to a concert by Danielia Cotton. What an incredible talent! I had never seen her in concert before, but when I received the email announcing that she was coming to a venue close to home, I checked out her website and went crazy when I listened to a few of the song tracks that she has posted. I couldn’t wait to hear her perform live. 

As a rule, my sister prefers to go to concerts which feature male lead singers. So, I was a little concerned that she might not enjoy the show as much as I would. Well, as it turned out, my fears were unfounded. My sister was thrilled with the show and thanked me for introducing her to another female vocalist that she will gladly go to see perform anytime in the future. She said that Danielia had her just mesmerized. So, I was able to “make a difference” in her life by dragging her (just kidding) to the concert. 

To make the evening even more special, it turned out that it happened to be Danielia’s birthday and so she said it was a real treat to be able to share it with all of us who were in attendance. And, to top off a perfect evening, a lovely, terrific woman that I work with was also at the concert with her husband and came over to say hi and told me that it was also her birthday! I thought – well, this really has to be one of the most perfect evenings I have ever had the pleasure to experience. So many examples of people making a difference in the lives of others and all being accomplished by simply being ourselves and sharing things that we enjoy with others. 

So, don’t underestimate the power of the things you do. You can truly make a difference in someone’s life simply by doing what comes naturally. Just imagine what you can do if you were to actually “plan” on doing something that will make a difference! Whoa, now that’s POWER!

Here is a quote that I like which seems to fit with the theme of the article. So, I thought I'd share it with you. It's credited to Jackie Mutcheson:

“It takes each of us 
to make a difference for all of us.”

Let’s take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity we have to reach so many others and do our best to "make a difference" by doing work that brings us joy and that just might change the world. The Internet and World Wide Web allow us to reach many more people than we ever could without them. Please join me in reaching out to others - whether you simply want to post on message boards, set up your own blog to voice your opinions, set up a personal or family website, or start your own home-based business, keep in mind that you have the power to affect people's lives with your words. Use that power to "make a difference". 

  © Copyright 2005, Louis Conjar, All Rights Reserved.

Personal growth has been a life-long passion for Louis Conjar. Serving as an Information Technology and Business Consultant for over 25 years, he has helped countless people and businesses achieve their personal and corporate goals. He is the author of 3 books, including the newly-released "Electronic Dreams: The Ultimate Guide to Building An Internet Business You Can Be Proud Of!". He has also developed and conducted numerous courses, seminars and workshops that promote personal and professional growth.

Starting An Online Business from Scratch 

(Part 1)

By Erica Sexton and Louis Conjar

One advantage of doing business online is that you can start from scratch without investing a ton of money. Not sure how to begin? Here are the first 10 steps of a 30 Step Action Plan to help you get started...

1. List 5 hobbies, interests or areas of expertise. If you want to start a new business, you'd be wise to choose a subject that you like and a subject where you can show expertise. You will have a lot more fun and you will be able to be much more competitive in your chosen market.

2. Brainstorm a list of keywords and phrases related to those hobbies and interests. For example, if you are going to sell small airplane collectibles, some possible keywords could be: airplanes, aeronautics, warplanes, etc.

3. Research those keywords in Wordtracker.com to locate problem statements that have high search results and low competition. Wordtracker.com is an online service web page that helps you discover how many times certain keywords are searched online, how popular those keywords on are on major search engines. Those keywords may represent problem statements. Wordtracker also shows you how many people are buying traffic based on those keywords and how much are they paying. You will want to find popular statements with low competition.

4. Research those problem statements further to determine if you can develop a product to solve the problem stated. You can use search engines to see how many people are offering products that promise to help to solve those problems. If you find a popular problem and there are not many people offering solutions online, you've got it!

5. Find or create a product based on previous research for you to sell. Once you have found a hungry market, you just need to find the food that your customers want and they will eat from your hands. You may find companies online that can manufacture the products for you or you may find a different way to create the product yourself. If the product is an e-book, you may write it yourself, purchase private label rights or master resell rights to an existing product, or you may even want to hire someone else to develop it for you from scratch.

6. Write a long copy sales letter for that product. The experiences of the most successful Internet marketing gurus reveals that long copy sell much better than short copy. It is also wise, if you’re just starting out, that you only try to sell a single product on your web site. Focus on one product unless the solution you are providing is to offer a storefront or wide-ranging catalog of products.

7. Register a domain and set up a hosting account. There are many places online where you can register a domain and set up a hosting account in minutes. A couple of the best are Big Dreams hosting and Quantum Web Services.

8. Choose an e-commerce solution for your site so that you can accept orders without having to perform any manual tasks. You can register for your own merchant account or select from any of a number of quality payment processors to take care of it for you. It’s best to offer multiple payment options if you can. 

If you’re just starting out, it’s probably better to wait to get your own merchant account until you begin making enough sales to justify the various minimum monthly fees that the banks charge. It can be a little bit more expensive per transaction, but you don’t have to pay anything out of pocket and it is a simple way to take credit card payments online very quickly and without the hassles that can go with order processing. These payment processors simply take their fee off the top of any monies they collect for you. My favorites are ClickBank for “soft goods” and CCNow for “hard goods”. And, now that PayPal has matured and changed some of its policies, they are an attractive solution, as well.

See the description of Quantum-eCommerce.com in the "surprising value" section below for a complete ready-made solution for you.

9. Set up a simple web site that you can have up and running quickly. You can do this by using an automatic site builder (many web hosting services offer these free or at very little cost), you can pay to have someone set it up for you, or you can use a professional “template” that provides you with a ready-made web page or even a full web site that you only have to add your word content to. Do not initially try to design your own web site unless you are already educated on the use of html. Do not waste your time. There are too many affordable options available today. It’s not like it was ten, or even five, years ago.

10. Set up an opt-in form on your web site to collect e-mail addresses. You need to start collecting e-mail addresses for your newsletter. The major part of your business will come from the emails that you will send to your customer list. Don’t worry about not knowing where to begin when it comes to creating a newsletter. I can show you many different options that will allow you publish a very good newsletter without having to write a single word yourself (if that’s what scares you).

Watch for Part 2 next month. If you want some help in identifying YOUR perfect business and in putting your dream into motion, I urge you to check out Electronic Dreams and begin to see what is possible.

 © Copyright 2005, Louis Conjar, All Rights Reserved.